When The Wind Blows
by Anita-Louise
Summary: Mulder returns with a little girl. But who is she?
1. Default Chapter

Title: When The Wind Blows 1/?  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Keywords: MSR, M/other implied, AU.  
  
Summary: Mulder returns with a little girl. But who is she?  
  
Feedback: To Boilerella@aol.com   
  
Spoilers: Everything up to TINH I and II.   
  
Disclaimers: Anyone you recognise belongs to the great ::cough, cough:: Chris Carter  
  
Thank You's: To Tali for Beta.  
  
Author's Notes: At end. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Fox Mulder clambered groggily out of the dust-covered car and walked slowly around to the passenger side. The drive had been long and tiring and he had begun to feel drained and lethargic. Once he reached the door, he opened it and carefully lifted out the small bundle cradled in the Technicolor baby carrier. He looked down at the tiny infant, enclosed in his arms, and smiled at the cherubic face which was still fast asleep; dead to the world. His breath, mixing with hers, in the bitter chill of the air made him realise how cold it actually was. Fearing that she may catch cold, he once again covered the baby's head and cradled her close to his chest. Mulder then turned his intense gaze up towards the apartment buildings and focused on one building alone. Thinking to himself that he was finally home.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Dana Scully was running around like a mad-woman after her 15-month-old son. It seemed as though the minute he reached the age of one, he was suddenly interested in everything, she mused. She couldn't remember him acting this way before.   
  
William finally decided to stop and sat heavily down on his padded bottom playing with his toy bear, Binkie. Scully breathed a sigh of relief and sat down exhausted onto what was once a cream sofa. Now it was a dingy grey colour. She then picked up a magazine and started to flick through trying to relax herself for sleep. In her parenting book it read that the more relaxed the mother was before the child went to sleep, the easier the child would drift off too. So far, it wasn't working.   
  
It was at times like these Scully wished that Mulder were there to support her. To see their child growing up. William had gotten so big since Mulder had last seen him. Their baby had learnt so many things. Scully smiled sadly and placed the magazine back down. She looked down at her tiny son and saw that he was fast asleep. His head snuggled into the bear's padded stomach.  
  
Sighing, she slowly dragged herself off the comfortable sofa. Stretching, she yawned. Silently praying that he would remain asleep. She didn't think that she would be able to go through another night of him screaming because he was cutting another tooth without someone to shift him onto. Scully picked William up and laid his head upon her shoulder humming a wordless lullaby to him while walking into the brightly colored nursery.  
  
She laid him gently upon his back and smoothed the hair that was falling over his forehead back. He was going to need a haircut soon, Scully thought. Dimming the light slightly she whispered to her sleeping boy the same thing she told him every night.  
  
"Goodnight, my darling boy. Remember that mommy and daddy love you very much. Sleep tight, baby."   
  
Scully then went back into the sitting room and picked up his favourite stuffed animal, Binkie, and then placed the toy into the crib next to her sleeping son. Sighing again, she slipped out of the nursery and was about to go into her bedroom to change for bed when she heard someone knocking loudly at the door. Terrified that the noise would wake William, she quickly glanced into his room. The moonlight casting an earth-real glow over his face, she saw that he was still fast asleep dreaming baby thoughts. Whatever those would be.  
  
"One moment, please," she called softly. The only people who would call this late in the night would be Doggett, Reyes or Skinner. And they wouldn't arrive unannounced no matter how important the call. She walked over the table beside the door and picked up her gun. Since she had been working with Mulder it had become second nature. Scully gently undid the chain and the main lock on the door, counted to three and then threw open the door, her gun poised. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust and once they had done so, the gun clattered to the ground as her hands flew up to her mouth.  
  
Mulder…  
  
Mulder…  
  
It's Mulder.   
  
Shocked, she slowly cupped her hand gently against his coarse cheek and he turned his head and placed a tiny kiss onto her palm. Mulder then dropped gently placed the bags that he had slung over his shoulder and on his arm carefully onto the carpeted floor, and slipped his arms around her, engulfing Scully. She breathed in the scent that was purely Mulder and for the first time in a year felt truly at peace.   
  
They stood there in silence for several moments. No words were needed. Then out of the blue a baby's cry startled them both. Scully thinking it was William turned around to head back into her apartment but Mulder held her tight preventing her from moving away. He then released his grip upon her upper arms and wordlessly knelt down and unzipped the partially open bag. Kneeling next to him she gasped loudly as she saw the tiny baby engulfed in blankets nestled in a cheap baby carrier. He stroked the baby's plump cheek and this gentle, tender gesture quietened the baby immediately.  
  
"Mulder…" she stuttered. Words drying in her mouth along with a vile taste of nausea. The thought was too difficult to comprehend. Could this be Mulder's baby? After she had given her heart completely to Mulder, had he gone and gotten some other woman pregnant? Scully hoped desperately to herself that she was jumping to conclusions.  
  
"Can we have this conversation inside, Scully?" He asked and he stood up back to his full height and strode purposefully, with the baby, into the living room. Stunned and fearful of the truth, Scully turned around and slowly walked back into the room shutting the door behind her.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Author's Notes: This is from a challenge set by NeoX at the X-Files Fan fiction Forum. The criteria was that it must have:  
  
* Mulder, at the end of season nine, comes back from insert your locale (s) after a year (you can begin the fic before he returns to DC, of course, as long as it starts after he leaves at the beginning of TINH I) * And has a Not-William baby with him * Explain baby's existence to at least 1 other character 


	2. When The Wind Blows Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Mulder gently placed the carrier on the floor, and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily. He could feel Scully's eyes boring holes into his back. Knowing that he wasn't going to get out of this with a simple answer, he turned to face her, his eyes pleading but he only received a cold glare in return.   
  
"Who is she?" Scully asked him. Her face now completely blank. He recognised this look. He had witnessed it every time she felt the need to confront him without revealing too much of herself. A good example of that was the fiasco with Diana. He despised this look.   
  
"Scully…" His whole body felt heavy. All he wanted to do was to sleep. Why wouldn't she just let it go for tonight?   
  
"Dammit, Mulder! what the hell is going on?" She yelled. Her voice shrill. Mulder heard William start to cry from one of the bed rooms, startled by the noise of his mother's raised voice, and his heart leapt. It had been so long since he had seen William. He only had a couple of pictures that Scully and he had taken before his hasty departure. He looked back towards Scully and saw that she was sitting down on the other chair, Her head clasped in her hands, she made a move to get up but he stopped her.   
  
"Let me go. He is my son, after all." Mulder waited for her response. He wouldn't blame her if she completely refused him. He watched as she slowly nodded her consent, then waited for a few more seconds before walking to William's room.  
  
Mulder entered the nursery and walked cautiously over to the crib in the centre of the room. The child was crying. His face was red and blotchy. Mulder picked up the tiny boy and gently whispered words of comfort into his ear to calm him down. As Williams's sobs began to subside, he laid his head trustfully against Mulder's shoulder and sighed gently to himself while sucking on his fingers. Mulder looked down at his son and studied his features. The child had obviously inherited his mothers' looks but had also inherited many of Mulder's traits, including his own pouty lower lip. His long eyelashes still held traces of fat tears and Mulder tenderly kissed these away. He had missed this so much. After a few more minutes had passed, and he was sure that William was fast asleep, he laid him back down into the crib and tucked him in. Mulder stroked the soft hair, which matched the colour of his own, and then left the room. Mulder was relieved that the child seemed to trust him already. Mulder had been terrified that he would reject him. Believed him to be a stranger, yet it seemed as though William knew him already...  
  
Walking back into the living room, he yawned widely, feeling more drained than ever. Spotting Scully standing with her back to the him, he approached her slowly and Scully seemed to sense Mulder's presence.   
  
"How is he?" Scully asked, turning round to look at Mulder.   
  
"He's good. Fast asleep. He's uh, William's grown, hasn't he?" He couldn't understand why things felt so awkward. He looked down fully at Scully, and saw that she was cradling the baby in her arms.   
  
"What did you expect? That he would stop growing just because you weren't here?" She paused to collect her thoughts, breathing deeply, and then carried on, calmer than before. "What's her name, Mulder?" she asked softly, gently rocking the baby who had begun to fuss.   
  
"Her name's Sophie. Alice was insistent on that." He prepared himself for the torrent of furious questions, but was surprised when they never came. It was almost as if she had resigned herself to something. He could see where her mind was though. He knew her better than she knew herself. He took a deep breath and then began to tell his story.   
  
"I met Alice a few weeks after I left you and William. I was on a real downer at that point. I'd gone into a bar in New Mexico to drown my sorrows..." He was cut off by Scully.   
  
"Is that where you were? New Mexico? Why didn't you tell me where you were going? Why didn't you try to contact me?" She sighed. "I was so worried about you. Everyone was telling me a different story. I didn't know who to trust." She placed her head in her hands, shaking it slowly. Mulder drew her in for a tender hug and kissed the top of her head, gently.  
  
"I know you did, and I just hope that you can forgive me. But I need to tell this story. I need to make you understand."   
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 


End file.
